When I think of love
by littlemissraindrop
Summary: During HBP, Ron discovers a suprising talent of one of his friends. When dancing takes hold he begins to analyse his relationship with a certain brunette. The night leaves new questions unanswered, can their relationship become something more? RHr fluff
1. Voice of an angel

When I think of love 

Disclaimer: We all know I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters (unfortunately)

Missing moment during Half Blood Prince, Ron/Hermione fluff story.

Hopefully it fits in but I can't remember the exact order of events between Ron and Lavender in it so I apologise if it doesn't.

The song is 'When I think of love' by Lee Ryan.

Enjoy!

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_**You're my past, my future  
My all, my everything  
My six in the morning when the clock rings  
And I open up my eyes to a new day  
My laughs, my frowns  
My ups, my downs  
It's the feeling that you get  
When you know that something's true  
When I think of love, I think of you**_

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Ron descended the staircase to the common room as if in a dream. For the past few days he had been incapable of concentrating on anything at all, always having his head in the clouds. When he was alone he seemed to cut himself off from the real world and just float around in his own thoughts.

For that moment his life was good.

He was sufficiently happy with Lavender being his girlfriend, not because she made him blissfully happy but because it had shut Ginny up completely. She no longer had a reason to give him an earful about how he was jealous of Harry and Hermione and this meant a quiet life for him.

Reaching the common room, however, something broke through his chain of thought; a flowing melody seemed to meet his ears and immediately he was pulled back to reality as if the song had been a port key.

Music? It was 11:00 in the evening; nobody should be up at this hour let alone listening to music. Maybe somebody left it on by accident. Ron began to make his way across the room to find the source of the music; his eyes immediately caught sight of the small, portable radio on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Looking round to see if anyone was actually listening to it he discovered that apart from himself, the common room looked completely deserted. He was about to head for the small, wooden table when he heard another voice join that of the singer on the radio.

It was a small, female voice which came from the armchair facing away from him. The voice of an angel, thought Ron, completely in tune and seemed to give him goose bumps. The individual appeared to be unaware of the fact that there was another present in the room and therefore continued singing along.

Curious to discover the owner of the silky singing voice, Ron quietly made his way forwards, trying to get a glimpse of the stranger in the armchair.

What he found was enough to make him shout out in amazement, 'Hermione!' He jumped backwards in astonishment, tripped over the edge of the fraying rug and promptly toppled over backwards onto the hard, marble floor.

Meanwhile, Hermione leapt about five foot in the air in shock. Clutching at her chest and breathing heavily, Hermione turned round in her chair and shot daggers in Ron's direction, 'Ronald Weasley! You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing up so late? I barely heard you come down!'

'I… umm…' he gabbled, grabbing hold of the arm of Hermione's chair for support whilst she in turn released his grip in annoyance so that he fell back again, 'couldn't sleep… so sorry…' stumbling, he finally managed to return himself to an upright position. 'What are you doing up anyway?' he asked, composing himself and rubbing the bottom of his back which now seemed quite bruised.

'Potions homework,' she replied, waving her hand in the general direction of a pile of books beside her, 'I finished it half an hour ago but I love this late night Muggle radio show and…'

'So _you _were definitely the one singing?' Ron asked in disbelief.

Again, Hermione shot him a look of infuriation, 'have you got a problem with my singing, Ronald?' She put a sting in her voice as she used his name, as if challenging him to question her musical ability.

Realising how he had worded the sentence and the accidental emphasis on the word _you _instead of the word _definitely_, Ron quickly tried to undo it, waving his arms at her, 'No, no, no! I mean… it's… you know… it really is beau…'

But before Ron could finish his compliment, Hermione was holding her hand out as an indication to stop, 'Shhhhh… I love this song.'

Silenced, Ron looked at Hermione intently as she closed her eyes and seemed to sway to the music. In that moment she looked so serene and beautiful; it reminded Ron of the way he felt about her, the way he had felt for years and was trying to block out by dating Lavender.

**_I'm looking at you while you're sleeping here beside me  
Oh, mere words can't explain the love I have inside  
It's more than just a physical thing  
I know something like spiritual connection  
I feel it in my soul, heart and mind_**

He observed her features lovingly; the trademark chocolate brown hair which lined her face no longer in bushy waves but in soft tendrils which brushed lightly across her shoulders and tumbled gracefully down her back, the delicate curve of her jaw line, the fullness of her cherry coloured lips.

**_The sweetest thing is what you are  
From you I'll never be too far,  
Please say forever you will stay beside me_**

All these things he loved about Hermione Granger, as well as her incredible intellect, her infectious laugh and her startling smile to name just a few traits. The list really could go on, he thought.

He wanted to be close to her every waking moment; he wanted to think of her at every opportunity. And before he knew it he was standing in front of her, arms outstretched asking her to dance.

For a moment Hermione seemed to just stare at him, then she gave him a winning smile and grabbed both of his hands, allowing him to pull her out of the chair and into his strong, muscular arms.

And so they began to dance.

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_**You're my past, my future  
My all, my everything  
My six in the morning when the clock rings  
And I open up my eyes to a new day  
My laughs, my frowns  
My ups, my downs  
It's the feeling that you get  
When you know that something's true  
When I think of love, I think of you**_

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To be continued….

Please read and review, I promise to upload more as soon as possible.


	2. Dancing with you

Holding Hermione in his arms felt right, it was like they were two pieces in the same jigsaw puzzle. He let go of both of her hands and encircles her waist with his arms. In response, Hermione snaked her arms gently around his neck. As she leant her head on his chest her could feel stray wisps of her hair brush against this bare arm. It gave him goose bumps to feel so close to her.

For a moment all he could concentrate on was the beating of her heart against his chest, the warmth of her breath on his upper arm. The both slow danced in silence, neither wanting to break the magic of that moment. The moment where it was just the two of them, nobody to separate them, a chance to reflect on the connection between them.

In the stillness, Ron took the opportunity to listen to the words of the song playing on the radio. He wanted to know everything about Hermione, store every memory, and know more about her than anyone else ever would. This was her favourite song and he was going to cherish it along with this memory forever.

_**'You're beautiful like the colours of the rainbow  
Warm hearted like the rays of the sun on a summer's day  
And all I gotta do is look into your eyes to lose myself  
You're the substance of my dreams, epitome of woman  
The only one I truly call mine**_

_**The sweetest thing is what you are  
From you I'll never be too far  
Please say forever you will stay beside me'**_

Ron smiled to himself at the irony of the song, in his mind it was exactly the way he felt about her. When he was around her he felt warmed and comforted, her eyes hypnotised him and he became lost for words around her. Before dating Lavender, she was all he ever thought about; her face appeared in every dream, every night. She was the one person that he felt an infinite connection with, the one person he could imagine being happy with for the rest of his life. No amount of dating Lavender could ever change that.

**_'Cause you're my past, my future  
My all, my everything  
My six in the morning when the clock rings  
And I open up my eyes to a new day  
My laughs, my frowns  
My ups, my downs  
It's the feeling that you get,  
When you know that something's true  
When I think of love, I think of you'_**

Hermione nuzzled her face into his pyjama top; removing one hand from her waist Ron brought it upwards and entwined his long, spindly fingers in her soft locks of hair. For a second he thought he could feel Hermione make a small smile against his chest before becoming lost in the music again.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down. Ron had begun to analyse the music, the enchanted words coming from the small plastic box. It was like some form of advanced magic to him, the words coming from the radio were those in his mind. It was as if somebody had entered into his thoughts and made a song from the finding.

**_'You're my past'_**

He recalled all of the memories he had of being with Hermione, some good, some bad. Still, Hermione was a welcome part of his past; it was a fact that he couldn't deny.

The one memory which stood out most of all was the one at the Yule Ball where they had literally screamed blue murder at each other in the common room before Hermione ending it with 'Next time as me to the ball before somebody else does and not as a last resort!'

Ron had to admit, this statement had thrown him a bit, Hermione had constantly protested that she was happy with Krum yet there she'd been, telling him that he should have asked her first. He had never decided if this was an unconscious betrayal of feelings from Hermione or just a passing reply to an argument.

**_'My future'_**

She was an inevitable part of his future and he knew it. Harry, Hermione and himself were all in this war together; to him there was no future without the three of them. Whether it would go beyond the next few years he was unsure of, but he wasn't going to let Hermione go without a fight.

**_'My all, my everything'_**

To him, Hermione was everything. Without her, he wouldn't exist; he wouldn't have survived the situations they had got themselves into. In the first year she had released him from Devil's snare on the way to find the Philosopher's stone, third year she had been at his bedside as she nursed him back to health after Padfoot's attack, there were many other occasions as well. Too many to count, he owed Hermione so much.

He remembered how he had felt when he had arrived in the hospital wing to find Hermione petrified on the bed in front of him. At that moment he had felt his world begin to crumble. Without her, he was nothing.

_**'My six in the morning when the clock rings  
And I open up my eyes to a new day'**_

She was there with him through everything, it was her face he looked across the Gryffindor table to see every morning. Her smile, those bright eyes; he could envisage all of the features of her face without even looking at her. She was what helped his to separate the day from the night, she was his sunlight, his day. Without her, he would be constantly in darkness.

_**'My laughs'**_

He reminisced about all of the times the three of tem had spent together just laughing. Laughing at everything from trivialities to more important things such as Harry's first kiss with Cho. He had shared happy moments with her; sometimes she had been the one to make him laugh when he felt that all hope was gone. She was so attractive when she laughed, he thought, her cheeks would turn a light shade of pink and her eyes would become brighter and happier. She made him want to laugh, forget everything else, block out the rest of the world and just let himself go. She had the power to make him feel free and unrestrained.

_**'My frowns'**_

There were so many arguments that had gone on between them. Not all spiteful, he remembered, sometimes he had started an argument just to watch her wrinkle up her nose and try to think up some clever remark in response to whatever he had thrown at her.

Most of the annoyed looks he had used in the past years had been either aimed at, or used because of, her. She made him feel angry, she was the one who managed to irritate him in so many ways. She made him protective and possessive and he didn't mind… because it was her and her alone for whom he could ever feel strongly enough to act in such a way.

**_'My ups, my downs'_**

She was by his side through everything, one of the only people who could relate to what he had been through, what he had seen. It was the reason that there was such a strong bond between the two of them.

_**'It's the feeling that you get  
when you know that something's true  
when I think of love, I think of you'**_

Ron had already picked up on these last few sentences and whispered them involuntarily into Hermione's ear. At first, Hermione thought nothing of it and Ron had not realised what he had done.

Then in the silence which seemed to have surrounded them, despite the radio continuing on to another song, realisation hit both of them. Hermione pulled herself backwards slightly out of Ron's grip so that she could look him fully in the face. Meanwhile, Ron's ears had turned an unnatural shade of red and a sheepish look appeared on his face.

'What did you say?' asked Hermione. Ron just looked at her for a moment, they were still in close proximity and despite the mishap that had occurred seconds earlier he felt an overwhelming desire to close the space and kiss her there and then in the empty common room.

He knew he had to do something, anything. But before his brain had chance to think of anything the pair were interrupted by a sharp squeal and a high pitched, 'Ron!'

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To be continued…

Hope it's to your liking.

Please review, my loyal readers and I shall post the next chapter soon. At the moment I am unsure of how long it will be but there's a good chance that the next chapter will be the last.


	3. Getting caught out

'Lavender!' Ron replied in confusion and astonishment. Looking briefly back at Hermione they both jumped apart, Hermione looked at Lavender with a look of irritation whilst Ron jumped too far back, tripped over the coffee table and ended up toppling over the back of the sofa. Instinctively, Hermione began to rush towards Ron who was now sprawled on the floor for the second time that evening.

Reaching out a hand to Ron, Lavender was immediately at her side. Once Ron had regained his footing Lavender knocked Hermione's arm out of the way in anger, 'stay away from him,' she snarled.

Looking back at Ron, Lavender could see a look of bewilderment written across his face, 'Lavender,' he stammered, 'what… what are you doing up so late?'

'Couldn't sleep…' she replied quickly with a wave of her right hand, dismissing the question, 'I _could _ask you the same thing but it seems I already know the answer!' She shot a filthy look at Hermione.

Ron, who had stopped rubbing his sore arm then stepped forward at this remark, 'No, Lavender, it's not what it looks like,' he pleaded.

What he really wanted to say was _I know what it looks like and you're right, _whether it was true or not. But the reality was that being in a relationship with Lavender meant that he was too preoccupied to be thinking about how much he yearned for Hermione, for this reason alone Ron decided that he didn't want to lose Lavender and was going to have to fight for her.

'And what does it look like exactly?' asked Lavender who was now standing there with her arms firmly crossed against her chest, venom spilling from every syllable.

'I don't know, but I swear I'd never do anything to hurt you. I really like you, Lavender…'

'So,' Lavender continued impatiently, 'what reason have you got for being in an empty common room with _her_?' On the word 'her' Lavender turned on Hermione and gave her a look of distaste, narrowing her eye brows and spitting the word at her.

'We were dancing,' Hermione said simply, Ron was amazed at how she held her voice steady and didn't seem to shrink under the scrutinising gaze of his current girlfriend.

'Oh, really?'

'Yes, really,' Hermione's voice became laced with a tone of darkness; Ron had only ever heard her react that way once, when standing between Harry and Sirius Black three years previous, as if protecting one of her own.

'And why would he want to dance with you?' Lavender spat back at her.

'Because maybe he thinks you're not that good a dancer,' Hermione said sarcastically, 'or maybe… just maybe, it's because I've been his friend for six years as opposed to you whose throat he's been ramming his tongue down for only a few weeks.'

'How _dare _you!' Lavender whispered maliciously, at this moment Ron decided to intervene between the two girls in his life.

He stepped in front of Hermione and turned towards Lavender, 'now, hang on! Let's just stop before this gets out of hand. Lavender, just listen to Hermione she's telling the truth. We were just dancing…'

His sentence seemed to gradually drift off as he saw the look on Lavender's face become one of disbelief and anger, 'What?' she hissed, 'you're standing up for _her_?'

'What?' Ron said suddenly, a sense of confusion in his voice, 'No, I…'

'You choose _her_ over me?' Lavender's voice became shrill, Ron was quite sure that if there wasn't a silencing spell on the dormitory doors then the whole house would be awoken by that. Meanwhile, the look on his face had turned from one of confusion to one of worry and misunderstanding.

'No, Lavender, I…' but before he could finish his plea he found himself being slapped across the face by an infuriated Lavender.

'It's over, Ron Weasley,' Lavender yelled, 'do you understand me? We're OVER!' With that, Lavender administered another swift slap across Ron's astonished face before turning on her heels, swiftly making her way across the room and bolting up the staircase to the sixth year girls' dorms.

Once Lavender had disappeared, Ron turned round to face Hermione, a look of horror and amazement written across his face. Hermione, however, was trying her best to suppress a fit of giggles which had arisen in her throat since Lavender had raised her hand at Ron. Unable to hold them in any longer, Hermione spluttered in an unladylike fashion and doubled over in hysterics.

'I'm sorry…' was all the apology she could muster as the fits of giggles kept coming in torrents.

'She slapped me!' Ron said in awe, rubbing his bruised cheek which was now turning a deep shade of red.

'So?' Hermione remarked, finally controlling her laughter and returning to her full height.

'It hurts,' Ron replied, whimpering slightly.

'So predictable coming from you, Ron!'

On that statement, Ron removed his hand from his throbbing cheek, placed one arm around her waist and pulled her to him, 'so you won't want me to do this, then?' he asked playfully, leaning in to kiss her. He knew it was a joke, but at that moment Ron realised that if Hermione didn't stop him then there was a good chance that he would be unable to refrain from leaning further forward and not stopping until their lips collided.

Luckily, and unluckily, for him Hermione did stop him.

Placing one hand over his mouth, she smiled cheekily, 'I'm nobody's rebound, Ronald.'

'Ok then,' Ron removed his arm from round her waist, 'guess I'd better be getting back to bed then.'

'Yeah, me too. By the way, thanks for the dance.'

'No problem,' Ron smiled and took a step past Hermione to head for the staircase.

Then, without a second thought as to what he was doing, Ron turned back and grasped Hermione's wrist. Spinning her round and towards him, he leant in and kissed her briefly on the lips. Moving back again a mischievous smile crossed his lips, 'Goodnight Hermione,' he said before turning back and making his way towards the dormitories.

Hermione stood there, dumbstruck. Her lips tingled slightly from the sensation.

The kiss could have either been classed as friendly or as something more.

Ron wasn't telling; it was something she'd have to figure out for herself.

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To be continued??? You tell me… if you want me to continue then let me know what you'd like to see (e.g. Hermione's POV, Harry's POV next day etc) I'm open to all ideas.

To all who expected a proper kiss, I'm sorry but this is a missing moment. However, if I do continue then it will no longer be a missing moment and I promise to write piles and piles of fluff with proper kisses.

All that aside, please review for me; reviews make me very happy when I open my inbox!

Many thanks


	4. Awkward moments

Just a little joining chapter to show Harry's position in the situation before we get to the fluff. Sorry, but unless you want them spontaneously kissing in front of Harry then I'm just going to have to keep you in suspense! 

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Harry's POV- The next day 

Something wasn't quite right between Ron and Hermione, it had been evident since they'd both laid eyes on each other that morning. He didn't know why but he was sure as hell going to find out.

He and Ron had reached the common room the next morning as they always did; it was buzzing with early risers all waiting to head to the great hall for breakfast. But the moment Ron's foot hit the ground the atmosphere of the whole room changed. Suddenly, Harry felt all eyes on them, a feeling which he was used to yet quite put off by when he wasn't aware of the reason behind it. He shifted uneasily beside Ron, who just seemed to take the whole situation in his stride.

'Merlin, the news got round quickly.' Harry shifted his gaze sideways to look quizzically at Ron. What news? How quickly? He had questions, but apparently Ron could read his mind and answered him before he could fully open his mouth to speak.

'Oh yeah, by the way, mate,' Ron whispered to him casually, 'Lavender and I broke up.'

That explained a hell of a lot, Harry thought. Looking round the room he was surprised that he hadn't been able to figure that out for himself from the expressions on peoples' faces.

Lavender was staring daggers at Ron from across the room; Seamus, who had always had a crush on Lavender, was looking extremely grateful and Parvati and Padma Patil were standing either side of Lavender arms folded in annoyance. Technically, that was an unfair advantage, thought Harry, the twins had never forgiven them for the lack of Christmas spirit at the Yule Ball.

Taking a bold step forwards, Harry followed Ron as he made his way through the sea of silent, staring faces. They headed directly across the common room to where Hermione was sitting in the large red armchair by the fireplace.

'Morning,' Ron smiled, looked intently at Hermione. Was it just Harry's judgement or did Ron seem slightly smug around her that morning?

His puzzlement increased further when, instead of a full-blown lecture over whether or not they had completed their potions assignments, they were greeted by a small squeak of surprise as Hermione stared up at Ron, 'Morning,' was all she seemed able to get out. As Ron sat down on the floor next to Hermione's chair, Harry watched her eyes follow him, widening in amazement and disbelief.

He decided to take a giant leap and ask the inevitable, 'has something happened between you two between last night and this morning?'

Immediately, Hermione seemed to become defensive, 'of course not, Harry! When would we have the time? You went up to the dormitories with Ron last night and came down with him again this morning, when would there be any time alone for anything to go on? Honestly Harry, get a bit of perspective!'

Taken aback slightly by this outburst but knowing full-well that she was lying to him, he decided to play her at her own game, 'well…' he replied indifferently, 'it could have occurred at the same time as Ron and Lavender splitting up…' Hermione shot Ron a look of distress, Harry continued, '… because the two of them looked very much together when me and Ron left last night.'

Unable to take the questioning from him, Hermione seemed to snap, 'look, just leave it Harry, ok? Nothing happened!' Then without even another look at Ron, Hermione stood up and fled from the common room.

Taking Hermione's place in the armchair, Harry turned on his other companion, '_Did _anything happen?'

'Nah, mate! Nothing to concern yourself with.' And with a self-satisfied grin, he drew himself up to full height and headed for the common room entrance.

Harry just sat there in bewilderment. As Ginny came to join him, sitting on the arm of the chair she asked him in interest, 'what's going on between Ron and Hermione?'

'I have no idea'

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More to come asap...


	5. Making a decision

Hermione's POV 

What the hell was going on here? Hermione asked herself. After leaving the hustle and bustle of the common room she could finally hear herself think. She made her way down the corridor until she reached an open classroom. Entering it she leaned against the wall next to the door and slid down to the floor in exhaustion and confusion. What had Ron tried to achieve last night by kissing her?

He had only just that minute broken up with Lavender, they were laughing, having fun… then he'd had to take it too far and kiss her. Her head spun, confusion overwhelmed her; did he know how she felt about him or was it just a bit of fun? Something to lighten the mood in case Lavender's outburst hadn't quite achieved it?

And now he was acting naturally, as if nothing had happened, he was toying with her emotions and it hurt her so much. When she had seen him this morning she had hoped that he would at least show a small sign of wanting to talk, wanting to get it cleared up. Yet, he was acting normally, greeting her courteously and that just melted her. She had finally managed to collect herself before he had come down to the common room but the moment he had said hello she had fallen apart again. Suddenly she felt as if she was being stupid and had ended up only being able to squeak a reply, feeling embarrassed and in the wrong. Maybe he had let it go, maybe she should too. After all, it could just have been friendly. 

Yes, she thought, that's what she was going to do. If he addressed the kiss she would simply acknowledge that it was friendly and that she had moved on. Therefore, he couldn't tease her and her feelings for him would stay secret.

She lifted herself up from her seated position and reopened the door of the classroom, ready to face breakfast…

and one particular redhead who went by the name of Ronald Weasley.

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	6. A winwin situation?

Ron's POV 

It was obvious, Ron smiled as he made his way through the portrait hole leading onto the corridor, he had Hermione exactly where he wanted her. It was blatantly obvious that she was confused about the kiss and that subconsciously she wanted it to have meant something. His heart leapt slightly at this revelation; she felt something for him, he knew it. All he had to do now was provoke her to admit it.

Striding down the corridor in the direction he thought Hermione had headed down, Ron couldn't help but chuckle slightly to himself. He had actually come up with a fairly successful plan that was working in his favour!

But what would he say to her? How to approach the situation? He couldn't just go up to her and ask her what she had interpreted it as or else his cunningness would have all been for nothing. No, she would have to be the one to initiate what had happened between them. This would all work out positively for him; he just knew it.

Reaching the door Hermione had headed through he leaned against the wall next to it. Was this finally it? He was quite positive that she felt something for him, and most definitely felt something for her. But what if she did see it as just a friendly kiss? Just to go along with the flirty banter they had been sharing. What if she didn't feel the same way as he did?

No! Ron shook his head violently, he shouldn't think like that. Hadn't her eyes widened at his when he sat next to her? Hadn't she been slightly uncomfortable around him, as if unsure of what to do about their relationship? Yes was the answer to all of his questions.

He couldn't lose!

Any minute now, Hermione would confront him about the kiss. She would ask him if it had meant what she thought it had meant and then she'd admit that she was happy to have been given the encouragement to admit her feelings.

Shivers ran down his spine, he smiled. Just a few minutes more, just a few minutes until she would be in his arms again… this time as his girlfriend.

He put both hands behind his back; placing them firmly on the stone surface he had been leaning on and pushed himself away from the wall. He turned to face the door that he had seen Hermione enter through and, closing his eyes, took a deep breath.

Any minute now, any minute…

'Ron.'


	7. Is lying less painful than loving?

Ron's eyes snapped open. Hermione was standing there in front of him, arms folded with a serious look on her face. He was surprised at how calm and collected her voice sounded, only minutes earlier she had sounded slightly frantic which was what had given Ron hope that maybe she liked him. This tone of voice worried him; still he may as well stick to what he had planned.

'Hermione,' he said, smiling in a friendly manner, 'about last night…'

Hermione mentally took a deep breath. So he was going to finally acknowledge that something did happen last night? Then she could tell him that she liked him and than it meant something more than friendship and… no! She had to stick to the plan, she had to stay strong and tell him that it meant nothing. It was important to keep her true feelings under wraps. He was her best friend, one of her only friends, she couldn't tell him how she felt in case he didn't feel the same way. To him, it was probably just a friendly kiss; if it had been something more then he would have addressed it in private earlier.

'You mean the kiss?' Hermione had fallen directly into his trap and he used it as an advantage.

'Well,' he replied innocently, 'I was going to say about the scene with Lavender and that I was sorry that you had to witness it. But seeing as you mentioned it…'

'It was nothing,' Hermione cut in sharply. Her words were definite but her mind was screaming _tell him the truth! _But she felt that she couldn't bring herself to do it, he had already caused her pain and she didn't want to give him reason to reject and ridicule her.

Ron was rather taken aback by this outburst of venom. He had been so sure that she liked him. It had been written all over her face that morning, 'What?' he managed to say, avoiding stammering the word.

Hermione used all of her strength to encourage the muscles in her body to agree for her to shrug, 'Just friendly, right? It was all just playful banter.'

Ron nodded, amazed at what he was hearing. Friends? Friendly? Just friendly? His dreams crumbled around him.

'After all,' she continued, 'you had just unwillingly broken up with Lavender…'

Lavender? Of course! This was all because he had acted in a way that looked like he didn't want to lose Lavender. She didn't understand that he had tried to keep her so that he wouldn't betray his feelings for her. He wished that he hadn't started the whole charade with Lavender to begin with.

Hermione, meanwhile had continued and decided to use the one topic which she knew hurt Ron the most, even if she didn't know why, '…and I like Victor.'

She had said it. She wanted to cause Ron as much pain as he had caused her, the look on her face showed her that it had done just that

A look of anger and hurt flashed across his face the moment the word _Victor _had left Hermione's longed-for lips. She still had feelings for Krum? _**Victor Krum? **_Of all the ways she could have broken to him that she saw them as just friends, this was the one way that hurt him the most. She couldn't have hurt him any more if she had ran him through with a blunt sword.

'Krum?' he breathed.

'Yes Ron, we only know one Victor…'

He had known exactly which Victor she had meant but just wanted to make sure that he had heard her correctly. Last year she had made him and Harry assume that there had been nothing going on except for the fact that she had been forming a new friendship with attractive Quidditch star.

Hermione twisted the knife, '…and you know that we really liked each other the other year.'

At that moment resentment welled up inside him, if Victor had still been at Hogwarts then Ron probably would have been angry enough to use the Avada Kedavra curse on him. Not wanting to argue with Hermione over it, Ron took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself. Now wasn't the time to get annoyed about Victor, if he did then there was a good chance that he would end up telling Hermione his feelings for her when only a minute ago she had confirmed that they were just friends.

No, it was important to focus on the job in hand, telling Hermione that he felt the same way and agreeing that they were both just friends. He held out his hand as a gesture of friendship to Hermione.

Staring at the hand, Hermione mused over what she had just witnessed. It made no sense at all; she had mentioned Victor, Ron hadn't got mad or put up a fight against her over him and now he was agreeing to put it behind them. Maybe she had read the signals wrong, maybe Ron had kissed her as a gesture of wanting their relationship to be something more but not saying anything in case she saw them as just friends. Maybe he was in the same difficult position as she was. Should she change strategy? Tell him that she felt the same? But she couldn't risk it, if it was as she had originally thought then she would be ridiculed, he could just have got used to Victor haunting their conversations and had therefore let it pass.

Before she could change her mind and tell Ron that she really did like him as more than a friend, she grasped his hand gently and shook it.

Ron looked down at the hand longingly, all he wanted to do was drop this new charade and pull her into his arms. He longed for her to know how he truly felt.

'So, are we ok?' asked Hermione, breaking Ron's train of thought.

'Yeah,' he choked, there was a long pause as her collected himself, 'yes we are.'

Hermione smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. Letting go reluctantly she walked past him towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.

'Hermione?' Ron's voice stopped her in her tracks; she whirled round quickly and eagerly.

'Yes Ron?'

'I… you…,' he sighed deeply, 'Are you coming to breakfast?' he finished in a resigned tone of voice.

Her happiness turned to sadness again, 'no Ron, I'm not hungry. You go ahead.' Turning back she returned to striding down the corridor to the Gryffindor portrait hole.

'You know what, neither am I,' Ron said quietly to himself. Needing to be alone he followed in Hermione's footsteps and headed towards his dorm room.

It was time they both did some serious thinking.

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Currently writing the next chapter so I may have to keep you in suspense for a few days whilst I insert fluff and suspense etc. In the meantime, please review!!!


	8. Experiencing the after effects

Rushing up to the girls' dormitories Hermione threw herself through the door, closing it hurriedly behind her. She had ran because she had wanted to reach her room before letting out the tears and anger which had been welling up inside her. The moment the door clicked shut Hermione dissolved into tears, they lined her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She leaned against the door and slid to the floor, closing her eyes and placing her forehead on her knees.

It had hurt so much to lie to him, to stand there and say that she felt nothing, to say that she preferred Victor to him. It had hurt to see the betrayed look on Ron's face when she said the name 'Victor'. She hated to cause him pain even if she didn't know the reason for it.

She remembered her mother telling her, 'if you don't take a chance you'll never know if it was meant to be.' Her mum was right, she would do anything to be able to do it differently. She should have stuck by her own feelings and discovered his feelings about their relationship that way. If it had been friendly then she knew now, through speculation, that he wouldn't have ridiculed her; he would have been the sort of friend who would graciously tell her that she had misinterpreted his actions.

It had all been because of her uncertainty as to whether the kiss had been a joke or whether it had been an initiation of something more. She could have done something about her misinterpretation of it as well. When she had said about it just being a friendly kiss she had seen the way his face had changed, she had noticed the change in his tone of voice, she had acknowledged the disappointment and yet she had done nothing.

She knew what she could have done. She could have kissed him back right then and told him about her uncertainty before. She could have told him how confused she had felt and that she now knew that he meant it to encourage something more. Instead she had used Victor, she had knowingly made things worse between the two of them. She went over this in her head as she urged herself to stop crying. Once she was sure that the last tear had fallen she realised that she had been hoping for a second chance.

With this thought, fresh tears fell.

What she wouldn't give to have a second chance, to make things right between the two of them. It was what she had wanted when he had called her back in the corridor when she had left him. She had been wishing and hoping that he would give an excuse for her to make amends. She had wanted a chance to run back, fling her arms around him and kiss him. But she hadn't had that chance; he had only wanted to ask her about breakfast. Typical Ron, she laughed through the tears, thinking about food at a time like that.

But that's what she like about him, he was different from everybody else, he had qualities that made him stand out from the crowd. His obsession with food was just one trait that was special, if not quite irritating. As well as that Hermione liked that he wasn't afraid to say what he thought, he wasn't scared to admit he was afraid. The way he looked after her made her feel special and protected, she admired the fact that he would go out of his way to stand up for her and look out for her. She liked the cheeky glint in his eye, the way he had a different smile when he looked at her as opposed to when he was around others. The sound of his voice soothed her, made her feel comforted.

So many things she liked about him but at the same time she hated him.

She hated the way he would pick out her faults, the way he would judge her actions. She hated that they spent most of their time fighting, she hated that he would never be the first person to apologise after an argument. She hated his mocking tones; she hated his blatant ignorance to topics that bored him. He got under her skin and he knew it!

Though through the good and the bad she loved him as more than a friend. No, she didn't love him, as love was a strong word. Rather, she was infatuated with him. Since the kiss she had longed for him to know that it killed her just to be friends with him.

She stood up, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. She began to pace the room. Now things would be awkward between both of them, more awkward than before they had addressed the matter. They seemed to stand on the fine line between friendship and relationship, neither would know how to act around each other and it would be difficult to decide what actions could be classed as friendship and what would be seen as something more.

She dropped herself down on her bed and fell back onto her pillows. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No doubt Ron was taking this better than she was. They'd been through arguments before; he probably had a game plan for this kind of situation and could make himself feel better simply by eating. She could guarantee that he was probably down at breakfast right now shaking off what had happened previously.

He wasn't.

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Ooh, enough tension for you?!?!?!

Ok, this is the first half of the next bit. I'm currently still working on the second half. I was going to post it all together as one chapter but I'm going on holiday on in a few days so I probably won't finish it beforehand.

Therefore, I am posting Hermione's POV (the completed half) now then Ron's POV as another chapter after, just to keep you going until I get back.

I'll update as soon as I get back home, I promise! In the meantime, please review and make me happy!


	9. More than just a crush

Ron was distraught. He had been so certain that morning of where they both stood in their relationship. He had, for some time now; felt that they both thought of each other as more than just friends and that Hermione's reaction to his presence that morning had confirmed his theory.

He'd headed back to the silent common room and thrown himself onto the sofa, swinging his legs across so that he was lying down staring up at the ceiling. He frowned to himself; he couldn't believe he'd set himself up for such a fall. It was like he'd been dropped from a great height and was now suffering from the painful after-effects of it.

His head hurt as he willed himself not to scream or let tears fall. There was a stabbing pain in his stomach and the pain in his chest suggested that he felt his heart was breaking in two. He was confused; he never thought he liked Hermione this much. He'd always been under the impression that he just had a crush on her, a harmless crush that would pass in time.

Since first year he had felt that there was something different about Hermione that set her aside from anyone else he knew. She was dominant and intellectual whilst at the same time friendly, caring and intuitive. He had noticed from the beginning that she was extremely sure of herself and knew what she wanted and how to get it. To him, she was incredible. True, he couldn't stand her at first but all along he had known that there was something about their relationship that meant that there wouldn't be anything they couldn't work through.

Then from fourth year onwards he had found himself thinking about her during every waking hour, it was like he had been addicted to her. The more he was around her the more he wanted to please her and impress her, and when she wasn't around he craved her company.

Being around her made him feel happy and when he thought of her nothing else mattered. That was why he had dated Lavender, he had known that Hermione could never feel the same way as he did and therefore had hoped to occupy his thoughts with someone. It had worked for a while but gradually he had found images of her slipping back into his thoughts.

He closed his eyes and thought of when it may have been that he began to have stronger feelings for her without realising it. He thought that he'd have to pinpoint it on the evening of the Yule Ball. They had argued about Victor, Ron hadn't known why it had affected him so much when he had found out she was with Krum, but it seemed to be important enough for him to want confront her about it in front of a large portion of the attendants of the ball.

He hated when they fought, he didn't know why they seemed to fight so much. Most of the time it would occur from something completely trivial; however, Ron acknowledge, it was usually him who would start the arguments. It seemed important to him to know that it was him and him alone who could get such a rise out of Hermione and felt that he had to fight with her to make sure that he still had the ability to.

He was aware that he got under her skin but he couldn't help it, it was his way of communicating with her and if he didn't have that then he would not have such a strong relationship with her. After a moment of thinking about this point he settled on the fact that he felt that he needed that form of relationship to make it unique; their own way of communicating.

But still, he hated when they fought. It would always end in the two of them separating to different rooms and not talking to each other for days at a time. It was always the after-effects that got to him, having that time to realise how lucky he was to have Hermione in his life. How she had the ability to light up a room with her smile, turn heads with her infectious laugh, make friends through her ability to communicate in a friendly but commanding way.

His eyes flew open.

He now came to realise that the fact that the reason he noticed all of these things was because he felt so strongly for her, more that a schoolboy crush but a complete fascination and obsession with her. That was why it had hurt so much when she told him the kiss meant nothing, a reason why it hurt him to think of her and Victor being together.

What he was feeling was jealousy.

Yet there had been something vulnerable in her voice. Something that made him think that maybe there was still hope if only he could gather his courage again and tell her what he felt for her.

He suddenly found himself hoping for a second chance, a chance to make a difference and change what had happened between them that morning. He didn't care about the consequences of his actions; he knew that Hermione would understand if he had taken it the wrong way and prayed that they would be able to stay friends.

He didn't know when he would be able to tell her but he knew that it was important that he did it soon. He needed to know where they stood with each other and whether there was even the slightest chance of their relationship becoming something more.

He rubbed his hands over his face in annoyance, why couldn't romance be simple? Why did it have to be such an obstacle course? Boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, family, teachers, admirers… the list could go on. So many people who could have an effect that could either make or break a relationship.

Just as he thought this the portrait hole opened and masses of Gryffindor students streamed into the common room. It was time for classes, thought Ron, though he knew it would be useless. All he could focus on was Hermione and what he was going to tell her to explain his actions and feelings for her.

He stood up and headed for the boys dormitories with Harry, who had just appeared at his side. As he reached the stairs, Hermione was descending down them. Moving to the side to let her pass neither acknowledged each other. A look of bewilderment crossed Harry's face before he followed Ron obediently to collect his books.

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Hermione had been lying on her bed for a good ten minutes whilst she thought of how she could gain a second chance to confront Ron. However, the din coming from the common room suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Realising that it must be time for classes to start, she opened her eyes.

Using the only idea she could think of in that short space of time she grabbed a piece of parchment from the drawer of her bedside table. Making a note of only a few lines she folded the parchment carefully and placed it in the pocket of her robes. If all else failed and she couldn't muster that Gryffindor courage she was meant to possess then this would have to be the next best thing. With that thought she stood up and gathered her books ready for lessons.

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Sorry about this chapter, I think it's good but I'm not overly happy about it and there isn't much fluff. I find it difficult to write things from Ron's POV as I can't relate to him and much as I can relate to Hermione.

However, please keep reading as I promise that there will be loads of fluff in the last few chapters.

In the meantime, please review and I will hopefully post another chapter either today or tomorrow.


	10. Too close for comfort

That evening both Ron and Hermione were on prefecting duty covering the corridors in the vicinity of the Gryffindor common room. Both were slightly dubious about how they were going to act around each other and therefore both were wary of being around each other. For the first half of the evening they tried to keep a significant amount of distance between the two of them, Ron patrolled the corridors furthest from the common room whilst Hermione worked around the rest of them.

By half way through the evening they were both convinced that neither of them would have to encounter the other until the next day. Maybe by then both would have lost the courage to confront the other about their feelings. At least, this was what they were sure would happen until they collided with each other whilst patrolling the same corridor.

Hermione was lost in her thoughts as she headed down the next stretch of floor. She was still trying to get her head around events that had occurred throughout the day. Ron had been avoiding her, he hadn't arrived at lunch and had sat as far away as possible in any lessons that they happened to have together.

She was also trying to figure out his actions.

Earlier that day they had been forced together by Harry, who made it blatantly obvious that he'd had enough of his two best friends keeping each other at arms length. He had therefore decided that they would all head down to the lake to sit together. Everything had been fine between them until her hand had brushed against his accidentally. His reaction had surprised and hurt her, instead of acknowledging that she was there and going bright red at the same time, he had simply flinched and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes before striding off ahead of them.

Now a series of thoughts and doubts were running through her head. What if he really didn't like her? What if he now hated her for saying that it was just friendly? What if he thought that she had taken the joke too far by dwelling on it? The one thought that seemed to plague her most was the one that had the greatest effect on her feelings. What if he knew that she liked him and was now repulsed by her? In her mind it confirmed her greatest worry from the start, maybe he wouldn't forgive her for her misunderstanding.

Not realising how far she had walked, she turned a corner and ran directly into a very familiar redhead.

'Ron! What are you doing down my corridor?'

Ron looked at her with concern, 'Hermione, you're three corridors away from the last one you agreed to patrol. Are you ok?'

Hermione paled, 'Me? I'm fine.' She looked directly into his stunning blue eyes then quickly down to study her shoes, 'I'd better get back to my corridors then.' Turning to leave she was rather glad to get away from him. It suddenly hit her that maybe this was why Ron had been avoiding her, being around him made her want to tell him that she had a fascination with him. If he had meant something by kissing her in the first place then maybe he had been avoiding an awkward meeting between the two of them.

However, whilst trying to get away as quickly as possible she was caught off guard, as Ron seemed to grasp her around her wrist. As she spun back round to face him he seemed to mutter the word 'Filch' urgently before proceeding to pull her towards the nearest cupboard.

In confusion, Hermione allowed herself to be dragged along and before she could remind Ron that they were prefects and were allowed to be out in the halls she seemed to be hiding in a store cupboard.

As they had entered the cupboard, Ron had pushed her in and was now standing extremely close to her. Leaning against her, he pushed her up against the wall and signalled her to be quiet. Hermione could feel the heat radiating from him as they stood there, the sound of them breathing accompanied the sound of her heart beating fiercely against her ribcage. Hoping to break the awkwardness she decided that this would be the best time to remind Ron of their position.

'Ron…'

'Shhh,' he replied sharply, looking at the door they had entered through.

She persisted, 'Ron…'

'Do you want Filch to hear us?'

Getting rather irritated rather than embarrassed now, Hermione repeated even more firmly, 'Ron…'

'What do I have to do to keep you quiet?' Ron asked in annoyance, turning on her for the first time and placing his left hand over her mouth.

Such an unexpected action caused Hermione to gasp in surprise before continuing to give muffled protests. Ron, however, had gasped at the same time, it was evident by his shock and sudden uncomfortable body language that up to that moment he hadn't realised how close he and Hermione actually were.

'I never fancied Lavender,' the words had left his mouth so unpredictably that he hadn't even had time to think of saying it. He couldn't believe that he had just come out with it after he had spent all day being passive, pretending that what had happened the night before was nothing. Now he was going to admit that he liked her? The way his mind worked still seemed to elude him after all these years.

This admittance had been effective in one way at least, it had silenced Hermione. The muffled cries seemed to have subsided and she was now looking at him with wide eyes. She reached up and grabbed hold of his hand to remove it. A jolt of electricity made its way up Ron's arm and caused him to shiver involuntarily, this really was more than just a crush.

For a moment, Hermione just let her hand rest on Ron's before coming to her senses and continuing to remove his hand from over her mouth, 'really?' was all her mind could think to get her to say. Inside, she was screaming _please let it be because of me._

'Yeah,' Ron breathed, 'I dated her to… to stop thinking about you.'

At this statement, Hermione's heart dropped slightly, he had wanted to stop thinking about her. That statement made her feel that he didn't care enough to follow through with what he had felt. It upset her; it never occurred to her that Ron was exactly the type of person who would want to hide his feelings for fear of rejection.

'Ok,' she replied simply.

A flash of confusion crossed Ron's face as he took in her answer, 'ok?' he questioned.

'Yes, ok. You dated Lavender although you didn't like her because you though…'

'Knew…' Ron cut in sharply.

'… _knew _you liked me,' Hermione concluded.

'Right,' Ron nodded in agreement; surely she understood why he'd done what he did. She should be showing some signs of either happiness or apology for a misunderstanding. Why was she being so passive about this?

'Ok'

After this blunt reply Ron leaned in and bought his eyes level with her own trying to meet them as she gazed at the floor, 'Hermione, I just told you I have feelings for you. Are you not the least bit interested or compassionate about that?'

_Yes, _Hermione was thinking, _yes I am, I really want to tell you how I feel but I'm afraid. _With this final thought Hermione decided what she would have to do.

'Hmmm,' she replied submissively, looking thoughtful for a moment. Once she had silently gathered her thoughts she met his gaze directly and mustering a serious tone of voice she stated, 'we're prefects Ronald, we don't need to hide from Filch any more.

With that she placed both hands on a dazed Ron's chest and pushed him away from her. Heading towards the door she turned back to look at him, 'by the way, you left your notes downstairs the other night. You may want them back.' She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. Taking a step towards Ron who was now looking at her with hurt and disbelief, she placed it into his robe pocket she turned on her heels and continued out of the door.

Once the door had shut behind her, Ron seemed to come to his senses. What had happened? Why had she reacted that way? 'Hang on, what notes?' Ron asked himself aloud.

Putting his hand into the left hand pocket of his robes he pulled out the piece of parchment she had left him with.

Opening it he stared at the few sentences in amazement, unable to react.

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Ah… don't you just love cliffhangers.

Please review and I will update tomorrow.

Ps. Thank you to everybody who has already reviewed. Loads more fluff to come next chapter, I promise!


	11. Facing the truth

Right then my dear readers, as promise I am updating this today so that I don't keep you in suspense. See? Aren't I nice?

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, we had been told what was written on the parchment. So we don't need to rewrite that… just kidding!

Here we go!

Enjoy

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Putting his hand into the left hand pocket of his robes he pulled out the piece of parchment she had left him with.

Opening it he stared at the few sentences in amazement, unable to react.

The series of enchanted words, which currently rooted him firmly to the spot, read as follows.

'You're my best friend but I can't stop thinking about you. I think I'm falling for you.'

Never before had such a small amount of words affected someone in such a great way. Ron could feel his heart doing somersaults inside his ribcage, a smile spread rapidly across his face and he almost yelled out with joy. These were the words he had been waiting for so long to have confirmed by Hermione, and here they were as plain as day written in black and white.

He looked around him frantically. Of course she wasn't there! She had left once she had given him the note. He was finding it difficult to think straight, all he could think was that he had no idea why he was still standing inside a store cupboard. It wasn't until he gained a significantly sharp blow to the back of the head as he jumped back in happiness and collided with a shelf that he realised that he should have been going after Hermione by now.

With this thought Ron opened the door and looked out into the hallway. Looking either way he was quite disappointed to find that she hadn't been waiting for him. He had been expecting her to be standing there hoping to hear that he felt the same way, instead the corridors were completely empty.

Closing the door behind him, he ran full speed down the corridor that lead to the Gryffindor tower, hoping to catch up with Hermione before she could reach the dormitories. By the time he reached the Fat Lady he had built up such speed that he almost ran directly into the portrait. Skidding to a halt just centimetres before the wall, Ron hurriedly stammered what could have sounded like, 'mandrake root' before tripping through the opening into the empty common room.

Still stumbling, he clumsily made his way across the room to the stairs at the far end. He clattered and clambered up to the balcony just before the entrance to the girls' dormitory staircase at incredible speed but eventually found himself slumped against a wall in frustration and exhaustion as he realised that he'd missed Hermione and would have to wait until morning to confront her.

There were so many things running through his mind at that moment, so many unanswered questions. His heart dropped in unison with his shoulders in resignation and he gave a deep sigh. He could tell he wasn't going to be doing much sleeping tonight.

Heading back down the stairs in a daze as he stared at the floor, Ron did not register the fact that another student joined him in the room. Instead, he was too busy running a scene through his head, wondering what could have happened if only he had been a little bit faster or if Hermione had been a little bit less hasty in leaving him.

Gradually, reminiscent of the evening before, the sound of gentle music seemed to infiltrate his thoughts. It was a song he had never heard before but immediately took a liking to. It was soft, lulling and beautiful; it reminded him of the individual he craved to be in the company of.

I never understood before  
I never knew what love was for  
My heart was broke, my head was sore  
What a feeling

Tied up in ancient history  
I didn't believe in destiny  
I look up you're standing next to me   
What a feeling

Yet a thought suddenly broke into his mind, the music must have been coming from the radio in the common room. It sounded like a muggle tune, which could only mean one thing.

'Looking for me?'

Hermione Granger.

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
Brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine   
Suddenly you're mine  
and it's brighter than sunshine

Raising his head and looking around the thought-to-be-empty common room, Ron's gaze soon met with the sight of Hermione sitting in an armchair opposite him. She looked radiant, he thought, the way that the light of the fire lit one side of her face and made it glow. Wisps of hair seemed to form a halo and her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him intently.

Sighing again with relief he smiled at her wearily, 'you know what? I think I am'

'Good,' she replied matter-of-factly, 'I knew you weren't as stupid as you sometimes pretend to be.'

Stepping swiftly forward, Ron asked the question he urgently needed to know the answer to, 'did you mean it?'

'Every word'

I never saw it happening  
I'd given up and given in  
I just couldn't take the hurt again  
What a feeling

'Why didn't you tell me?' he took another step across the common room, feeling bolder with this response.

'I was afraid…' Hermione whispered as tears began to form, lining her eyes and making them sparkle even more in the firelight.

'Of what?' Ron implored.

'Of rejection,' Hermione seemed to choke on the words, 'of losing you.'

I didn't have the strength to fight   
Suddenly you seemed so right  
Me and you  
What a feeling

Ron took a few more steps forward and knelt down in front of her. Reaching out a hand, he wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall. Again, a jolt of electricity made its way up his arm, 'You could have told me when I told you.'

At this Hermione shook her head fiercely, 'No, I was scared. I couldn't tell you face to face.'

'So you conjured a note?'

'No,' Hermione replied simply. Ron looked confused; 'I had already written it and was waiting for the right moment to give it to you.'

Taking in this explanation, Ron stroked her cheek with his fingertips and whispered, 'You were going to tell me?'

'But you beat me to it,' Hermione smiled.

Reluctantly removing his hand from her cheek, Ron leaned back placing both hands on the carpet behind him looking blissful, 'One thing I got to do before Hermione Granger,' he laughed, 'feels good!'

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
It's brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine   
Suddenly you're mine

It's brighter than the sun  
It's brighter than the sun  
It's brighter than the sun, sun, shine.

'Would you like to dance,' Ron asked, getting to his feet and holding his hands out to her.

Wordlessly, Hermione stared up at him. A moment later a lazy smile crossed her face and she caught his larger hands with her own. She allowed him to pull her up out of the armchair and towards his muscular frame.

Love will remain a mystery  
But give me your hand and you will see  
Your heart is keeping time with me

As Ron snaked his arms around her waist, Hermione buried her face in his shoulder, 'I knew something good would come from taking a risk,' he whispered.

Leaning back, Hermione looked him full in the face, 'our memorable first kiss.'

'No,' Ron shook his head, 'this will be our memorable first kiss.'

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
It's brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine   
Suddenly you're mine

Ron leant in to meet Hermione's waiting lips, bumping noses in the process. Pulling back he laughed nervously and blushed, Hermione however seemed unfazed by this and continued to look deep into his amazingly blue eyes. Trying again, Ron closed his eyes, tilted his head to the side and moved in again. Just before their lips touched he stopped again, 'are you sure?' he breathed.

'Yes,' Hermione whispered, closing the gap and kissing his squarely on the mouth. As her eyes slipped shut she kissed him tenderly, slipping one arm round his waist and the hand of her other arm on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her. Ron in turn responded by reaching up and tangled his fingers in her long, chocolate brown hair. She felt inexperienced in this field, but with Ron guiding her she felt safe and confident. She kissed him more deeply and stroked the back of his neck causing him to shiver involuntarily.

Pulling away gently, Ron placed his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed, 'go out with me?'

'What a stupid question,' she replied before kissing him once again.

'Is that a yes?' Ron asked as he pulled away again and gave a small laugh.

'Yes Ron, a thousand times yes,' Hermione whispered resting her hear against his chest as they began to dance once again.

What a feeling in my soul  
Love burns brighter than sunshine  
It's brighter than sunshine  
Let the rain fall, I don't care  
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine   
Suddenly you're mine

And it's brighter than sunshine

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Well, that's it! It started as a missing moment and now it's finished as full on fluff stuff!

I think I'll be writing a short epilogue so please hang on for it.

The last quoted song was 'Brighter than sunshine' by Aqualung. I was going to use the Lee Ryan one again but it seemed a bit repetitive to the story and would have to be more than coincidental to be playing on the radio again.

Thank you to all my lovely readers and reviewers, hope there was enough fluff for your liking and that you'll look out for my future work. I have about five Harry Potter romance fanfics in the works at the moment that won't disappoint fluff lovers.

Thanks again

Little miss raindrop


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